Kindred Spirit
by SpiralAK
Summary: After the end of the Chunin Exam, Sasuke is alone, unsure of the path ahead of him. In his time of need, Kakashi comes along to lend Sasuke a helping hand.


Sasuke stood in a forest located deep in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sunlight peeked through the canopy, striking a massive slab of stone that stood a few meters in front of him. He had just finished carving a pair of holes into it, large enough that he could see through them. Yet, in spite of all the damage that the boulder had sustained, it hadn't crumbled into dust.

A scowl darkened his face. There was no doubt in his mind that he had improved, but it wasn't enough. He couldn't protect Sakura, and he couldn't beat Gaara with a move designed to beat him. If Naruto hadn't come along when he did, he would have been killed. To make things worse, instead of buying some time for them to escape, he did what he couldn't and _won_.

He could still feel the thrill that had gripped his heart when he had stared into Naruto's eyes. Those weren't the eyes of a loudmouthed loser, they were the eyes of someone who was willing to do anything to protect the ones he cared about.

The things he did during that fight were amazing, and it wasn't a fluke or dumb luck. Naruto was growing stronger so quickly that he was starting to fall behind. It was only a matter of time before the gap between them became insurmountable.

If he couldn't surpass Naruto, he would never become strong enough to kill his brother. Even if he did, it probably wouldn't matter. No matter how hard he trained or how many techniques he learned, someone was always there to show him how futile his efforts were. Gaara, Orochimaru, even Haku had taken his skill and stomped on it.

If he couldn't win the fights that mattered, and if he couldn't protect the people he cared about... then what was the point of getting stronger?

"Practicing your Chidori, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyes flicked across the forest, searching for the source of that voice. He found him standing on top of the boulder he had damaged.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was just passing through. But it seems like you haven't learned any manners, even after I gave you all that special training."

He felt his teeth grind against each other. The last thing he needed was having to deal with Kakashi's horrible sense of humour. "Your training didn't help me beat Gaara."

They made eye contact then, and Kakashi gave him a stare that pierced his soul. "You're right. But that wasn't why I trained you."

"Then why did you?"

Kakashi disappeared, crossing the distance that separated them in the time it took for Sasuke to blink. "Think about what you accomplished in the past month."

Sasuke stared past Kakashi and at the gouges he had formed in the rock. It would have been impossible for him to do that if he didn't know the Chidori. Still... it didn't mean much, in the grand scheme of things.

"I got faster, and I learned a new jutsu. So what? It didn't help me win."

Kakashi shook his head. "You're missing the point. Why would I teach a move as powerful as the Chidori to a rookie genin?"

 _So that I could beat Gaara,_ he thought. He was about to say that, but he held his tongue. Kakashi always went on about looking 'underneath the underneath', so that couldn't have been the answer he was looking for.

Now that he thought about it, there was no way he could have beaten Gaara once he transformed. Kakashi had to have known about Gaara, beyond the skills that he had shown during the exam. And if he knew that, and still taught him the Chidori... Then it couldn't have been for the sake of a single fight.

The Chidori was a technique meant to kill others in a way that could immediately confirm that the target had been killed, and something that couldn't be blocked. It also had a high cost; he could only use it twice before using it became dangerous, making it something he could only use as a last resort.

When he considered that, the answer became pretty obvious.

"So that I could use it to protect the people important to me, or myself if I was in danger of getting killed."

"That's right," he said.

Sasuke frowned. "But it didn't help. I wasn't strong enough to beat him. I wasn't strong enough to keep him from hurting the people I care about."

The admission grated at him like nails on a chalkboard. He hated how he had never been strong enough to win when it counted. He hated being reduced to a helpless bystander whenever he fought someone stronger than him.

And he hated how these self-depreciating thoughts had kept on plaguing his mind, festering his doubts and insecurities.

A firm hand clasped his shoulder, shaking him from his stupor. "Sasuke. I want you to take a deep breath."

He did, breathing in until his lungs burned and letting it all out. It calmed him down, temporarily setting his mind at ease.

"Good. Now, I want you to listen to me. There's going to be times when you feel like you aren't progressing as fast as you'd like, when you feel like everything you do is pointless. When you just want to give up because you keep on losing. But you can't let that happen."

Sasuke frowned. The way Kakashi was talking like he knew him was aggravating. What made it worse was that he wasn't that far off.

"If you do, there's a chance you'll do something you'll regret. Something that'll force you to betray everything that defines you in the pursuit of your ambition. And in the end, all you'll be is an empty shell."

The words struck a chord, bringing the curse mark on his shoulder to the forefront of his thoughts. It was an intoxicating power, that much was true... but it made him far too cruel, poisoning his mind, his body and his soul. He couldn't rely on it, no matter how tempting it was.

Was that what Kakashi alluding to?

"Why are you telling me all this?" Sasuke asked.

"I've been in your shoes, Sasuke. I know what it's like to devote every fiber of your being to a single goal. I know what it's like to lose everyone you care about."

Sasuke stared at Kakashi's lone eye, peering into his soul and the pain that he had exposed. It was a shock to see that from someone who guarded his emotions so well. Then again, if he was telling the truth, maybe it wasn't so shocking after all.

"And I want you to know that you aren't alone."

A silence fell over them. Kakashi was right, but it didn't feel that way. There was a wall separating him from the rest of his team, keeping them from getting too close. A wall of his own creation.

He had endured physical and mental pain that should have killed him several times over. But he was willing to put his life on the line to protect his friends, because the pain of losing someone close to him was indescribable.

It was a pain that he never wanted to feel ever again.

The grip on his shoulder tightened, breaking him from his reverie once more. Anchoring him to reality. "You've made a phenomenal amount of progress, Sasuke, and you should be proud of how far you've come. That doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement.

"The road ahead of you's going to be long and filled with hardship. I'll do everything in my power to help you achieve your goal, and I know that Naruto and Sakura will too. But we can only do that if you let us help you."

He let go of Sasuke's shoulder. "It isn't easy to place your trust in someone else, especially when they can leave you in an instant. But trust me, it's worth the risk."

Maybe that was how Naruto had grown so quickly, by gaining friends and drawing strength from them in his time of need, bolstering their resolve in turn. But Naruto hadn't felt the pain of loss. It was easier for him to form bonds because he had none in the first place.

Yet, he had seen firsthand what Naruto had accomplished.

Sasuke made eye contact with Kakashi. "I'll try."

Kakashi smiled. "Thank you. That's all I can ask for."

He wasn't sure if this was actually going to work, but he didn't see any other viable path that would help him beat Itachi. And Kakashi understood him. Maybe this was doomed to fail, but, if he had to put his faith in anyone, there wasn't a better candidate than his sensei.


End file.
